The Wishing Pool and Other Stories – Tananarive Due
Expectation: Stories to chill-the-bones from a celebrated voice in the Black horror genre.
Reality: Interesting scenarios and characters are largely overshadowed by ancillary details and incomplete endings.
My Take:
I wanted to like this collection of Black horror, sci-fi and Afrofuturusim more than I did.
Nearly every story ended flat, almost like the author wasn’t sure how to wrap things up. This led to a sense of incompleteness — not unexpected with short stories, but rather egregious here.
With shades of Octavia E. Butler and Stephen King, Due showed a knack for creating engaging scenarios and well-drawn characters, so it was disappointing when all but a few stories petered out.
Set in four parts — each framed around a different theme or genre — most have a connection to Gracetown, Due’s answer to Castle Rock or Derry. The author also played with history, inserting a few watershed moments (like the Lorraine Motel) into the action.
However, these tidbits distracted rather than enhanced many of the narratives as they seemed tangential or forced into the slim plots. It wasn’t until “Part III — The Nayima Stories” where it felt like the author was hitting a stride, but it was too little too late.
I only casually listened to the last few stories, eager for the experience to be done. Knowing that Due is an author of note in this genre, I’d be willing to give one of her novels a try, but I can’t say this collection is a strong introduction to her work.
If you do read this, focus on these stories but skip the rest:
The Haint in the Window — A Black bookseller in a recently gentrified neighborhood suspects a ghost is wrecking havoc at his small store. A great twist ending.
Migration — an impulsive woman wonders if her acting out is undiagnosed mental illness or demon possession. The only story in the collection that made me want a follow-up.
One Day Only — I’m a sucker for dystopian pandemic stories, and Due delivers the most satisfying entry from start to finish. One year after a deadly flu decimates much of the population, Nayima prepares a comedy show for the few residents left in Malibu. While this had a post-script, “Attachment Disorder,” it didn’t capture my attention in the same way.
William DeMeritt and Jasmin Walker took turns with the narration, and each did a passable if unremarkable job. Walker gave more life to the characters, but DeMerritt had a somewhat menacing delivery that helped increase the creepy factor.
Thanks to Libro.fm, Recorded Books and the author for an advanced listener copy. This exchange of goods did not influence my review.
Rating (story): 2.5/5 stars
Rating (narration): 3/5 stars
Format: Audiobook (personal library)
Dates read: February 13 – February 17, 2024
Multi-tasking: Good to go. A few of the action sequences don’t land correctly if you aren’t paying close attention, but this is relatively easy to follow – regardless of activity.
